


Synonyms of Beautiful

by batsgalore



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, but he’s home preparing the crib or something idk, cute brotherly dami like always, he’s too silly and angst for this fic, lotsa fluff, oh and alfred, slight angst, sorry i forgot jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 06:19:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12953172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batsgalore/pseuds/batsgalore
Summary: Bruce Wayne is finally gifted his daughter, Helena. His main concern, however, is Selina.





	Synonyms of Beautiful

Bruce tapped his foot. He was nervous, very nervous. His wife was giving birth to his daughter, his own daughter. He never knew that witnessing his own child grow and be born would be so...overwhelming. He has four sons for God’s sakes, it shouldn’t be this exhausting, should it? He’s hovered over injured sons, worrying if they’d be alright. He thought that was stressful. But this? This was on a whole new level.

“Bruce, calm down, she’s fine,” Dick’s voice beside him snapped him out of his over-analytical trance. Bruce looked over to his eldest son, his eyebrows wrinkled in worry. 

“I know, it’s just...I just-“

“She. Will. Be. Fine.” Dick cut off, calming him by touching his balled fist. Bruce unclenched it, attempting to relieve tension from his body. He looked Dick in the eyes and Dick offered a soft, reassuring smile. 

“You’re right, Dick, thank you.” Bruce sighed in relief. 

Dick nodded and turned to his youngest brother, Damian. Damian seemed unmoved by the whole situation, scrolling through his phone with earbuds in his ears. Yet, everyone knew he was trying to hide his nervousness under that mask. He was extremely quiet the whole ride to the hospital. Most know that Damian isn’t much of a talker at all, but he was way less talkative than usual. He didn’t engage conversation when Dick attempted it, nor did he make snarky remarks on anything he could when it came to Bruce’s audible worry for Selina. He was nervous, no doubt, but he was good at hiding it from anyone outside the family. 

“You good, little D?” Dick asked, placing a hand on Damian’s wrist that held his phone. Damian didn’t answer Dick the first time around, Dick assuming he hadn’t heard him over his earbuds. In truth, Damian hadn’t been listening to music at all, he just wanted to be left alone.

“Dami? You okay?” Dick repeated, slightly tugging at Damian’s earbuds.

“I’m fine, Richard, get your filthy hand off me,” Damian growled, still staring at his phone.

Bruce looked down to his youngest as well, shooting him a warning glare. He didn’t need any more stress this morning, especially not with his sons. When Damian didn’t look up to see his father’s piercing stare, Bruce closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn’t understand why childbirth was so stressful for him. He’s helped deliver babies from pregnant victims in the field before, it was never this stressful. So why now?

“This is new for you, Bruce, it’s okay to be concerned for your wife,” Dick spoke again, constantly seeming to know what Bruce was thinking, “But like I said, I can assure you that she’ll be A-okay.”

“Mr. Wayne?” A woman’s voice interrupted behind them, presumably a nurse. Bruce turned around to see a doctor. 

“Here,” he raised his hand slowly.

The nurse walked over swiftly. Bruce detected worry in her body language, alarming him. He sat up straight, preparing himself for the worst.

“Mr. Wayne, I came to inform you that your wife will be needing a C-section to deliver the baby. She’s still healthy and very strong, but she is bleeding profusely and will not be able to have a traditional delivery.” 

Bruce’s mouth opened to speak but no words came. His emotions were to wild, a combination of fear, pride, concern and overall, stress. He just wanted to be there with her in the room, holding her hand the whole way through. But if he can’t react appropriately to news that aren’t necessarily bad, he couldn’t even attempt to fathom witnessing his daughter’s birth. 

“I-I...she...” Bruce stuttered, struggling to find his words.

“She’ll be okay, right?” Dick spoke up, nudging Bruce.

“Yes, sir. She will be a bit weak when the procedure is finished, but in the end, she’ll be perfectly fine,” the doctor assured.

Bruce finally found his tongue and spoke, “Thank you, Doctor Langford. Tell her I’ll be here.”

Doctor Langford smiled and stood to leave. She winked at Damian who was now well aware of the situation. He finally took his hood off and tucked his phone into his pocket. 

“Will...will the baby be alright, Father?” Damian asked quietly, trying his hardest not to reveal his fear through his tone. 

“We can only hope, Damian.” Bruce responded, taking his son’s hand into his own.

The three sat in tense silence for an hour before another member of the family showed. Two members actually. Tim and Stephanie walked in together. They had just gotten back from ice skating when Bruce sent them a text that Selina had gone into labor. 

“Bruce, is everything alright?” Steph asked as they approached the two men and boy, “We got your text and you seemed kinda worried.”

“Yes, everything is fine.” Dick interrupted, “Selina is getting a C-section done because she’s bleeding too much to deliver herself.”

Steph looked over to Dick, confusion on her face. 

“Yeah, he can’t speak because he’s too nervous. I’m doing most of the speaking tonight.” Dick said dryly. 

“Oh,” Steph shrugged, “I understand that, childbirth is scary as hell.” 

Dick scowled at Steph, telling her she wasn’t making anything better. Tim nudged her in the arm and led her to the seats across from Bruce, Dick and Damian. 

“How’s the small one taking it?” Tim finally spoke. “He doesn’t seem too concerned at all.”

“I’m not going to overwhelm myself with something that doesn’t call for my concern,” Damian pointed out, “Especially childbirth, it is a very common procedure that typically ends well.”

“Actually, the Maternal Mortality Rate is pretty high in America, Damian.” Tim corrected, “Really, we have the highest MMR in the world of develop-“

It was Steph’s turn to kick Tim, twisting her face to show her disappointment for his unnecessary call for debate. Tim shut his mouth and pouted, slinking back into his seat.

“We know Selina, though, she’s too strong. She’ll deliver this baby and come out ready to hop around rooftops.” Dick chuckled, lightening the mood. 

Bruce grinned at that. Of course Selina would be fine, she was one of the strongest women Bruce knew. She’d punch him in the throat if she knew that he was sweating bullets over her.

“Yeah, well, she’s been wanting to rip my face off the whole pregnancy.” Bruce finally grumbled. 

“Why so?” Tim asked.

“Hormones.”

Everyone laughed knowingly. Hormones and mood swings during pregnancy were always the worst. Put that and a woman like Selina together, you’ve got yourself a ferocious beast. Anyone who knew her would rather stay ten feet away from her when she’s angry. Anyone who didn’t, would stay away altogether.

“Seemed more like a lion that just a Cat to me,” Bruce grinned and shrugged, “I felt like a mouse when she would yell at me.”

“Wish I was there to witness it.” Dick sighed. He hadn’t been in Gotham for most of Selina’s pregnancy, he was off with the Titans on an out-of-country stakeout for months. 

“Be glad you weren’t anywhere near the vicinity of the Manor, Dick,” Bruce said, raising another wave of laughter from the small group.

Just then, Doctor Langford reappeared. This time, she wore a smile and had a pep in her step, “So, Ms. Kyle is doing great,” the doctor announced in her arrival,” The cesarean is finished, we’re stitchin’ her back up as we speak.”

The group sighed in relief, standing to hug each other, but mostly Bruce. Damian stayed in his seat.

“As of now...” she continued, “The baby is waiting for her beautiful family to say hi.”

Bruce perked up completely at that. He’d never felt so happy in his life. Sure, he nearly cried at his wedding, but this one of the best moments of his life. At the news, Damian shot up from his seat and quickly followed behind the doctor. He was far ahead of the rest of the family, his reclusive behavior long gone.

“Someone seems ready to meet his baby sister,” Tim whispered, nudging Dick’s arm. Dick smiled back at him and winked. He knew Damian was just putting on a cover, he didn’t want to seem ‘weak’.

“And I thought I was the most excited here,” Steph giggled. 

They arrived at the newborn nursery after a sanitation inspection. Tim had to stay behind, he had began to catch a cold from his skating trip with Steph. Steph stayed too. Damian, however, was still at Doctor Langford’s heel up until they reached the baby’s bed. Bruce reached the crib and looked down to his newly born, and very beautiful, daughter. A tear ran down his cheek at the sight of her. He held her small body and kissed her tiny face, her dark black hair was already fully covering her head. 

“Father...may I...hold her?” Damian hesitated to ask, peering up at his emotional father. 

“Of course, son,” Bruce smiled softly and handed the boy his sister.

Damian lifted the small girl from his father’s arms as carefully as he possibly could. Once tucked in his arms, the baby’s eyes popped open to look around at her surroundings. Her bright blue eyes glistened against the medical monitors in the dim light of the room. It took her a minute before her eyes finally settled on Damian’s face. She stared, her eyes as focused they could be, at Damian. Damian put his hand up to her’s, earning a slow reflex of her fingers wrapped around his. He smiled down to her as her eyes drifted closed once more. 

“She’s very beautiful, Father. Congratulations.” 

Bruce smiled and patted Damian on the shoulder. If Damian was happy, Bruce was happier.

“You can’t steal all the time with her, Dami. Let Big Bro see too,” Dick insisted, placing a hand on Damian’s shoulder. Damian looked up to his eldest brother, a pout on his lips, asking to let him hold her forever.

“Just for a little bit?” Dick begged.

Damian huffed a sigh before slowly handing the infant to Dick. She squirmed in the process, still asleep nonetheless. 

“Hey there pretty gal,” Dick whispered as he took her hand around his finger as well, “You’re a cute one, I know I’ll spoil you until I die. Your dad’s a lucky one to have such a precious daughter.” 

Dick glanced up to Bruce and winked, handing her back to her father. Bruce held her and slowly rocked her in his arms, drawing an exasperated sigh from the baby. He never wanted to let her go, he wanted to live in this moment forever if he could.

“Mr. Wayne?” Doctor Langford’s voice could be heard again. “I’m sorry to interrupt the moment, but Ms. Kyle is ready to see you now.”

Bruce carefully handed the baby back to Dick, eager to see that his wife was okay. He followed to Doctor to the recovery ward where Selina was located. When they arrived, Selina was peacefully sleeping, connected to monitors in her gurney. 

He walked over next to her, kneeled down, and placed a hand on her’s which lay by her side. She awoke immediately at the contact, cracking her eyes open to see Bruce standing over her,

“Bruce?” Selina grumbled with a raspy voice.

“I’m here, Selina. You’re fine,” he reassured with a soft tone.

She attempted to sit up to hug her husband only to be pushed down by him. Instead, he kissed her on the forehead and brushed her short black hair away from her sweaty forehead. 

“Ugh, I feel so weak,” Selina moaned, “I hate it.”

“Don’t, you’re a mother now, Cat. You’re not always going to be having the strength to jump off buildings and dodge bullets.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel right. I feel like I used all nine lives getting her out of me,” Selina sighed sarcastically, “How is she, by the way? Did you see her yet?” 

“Yes, I saw her. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Selina. You did that, you know.”

“We did that, Bat.” Selina purred, touching Bruce’s face. Bruce bent down to take his wife into a warm embrace wishing the moment could last forever. But he knew the cold would have to come back sometime. 

“How long do you have to stay?” Bruce asked, slowly releasing the long hug.

“A week,” Selina sighed irritably, “Hopefully I don’t go stir crazy and jump out the window.” 

“Hm.” Bruce grunted absently. He didn’t think he could go one more hour without his beloved, now he had to wait days?

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Maybe.” Selina grinned, trying to bring joy back into Bruce’s eyes.

Bruce only tugged a weak grin, a worried sulk slowly taking over him as he imagined the worse once more. Selina noticed and took his hand into hers, rubbing over his calloused fingers.

“Bruce, I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. You have a daughter now, a wife, and sons even I lost count of. The last thing you need to do right now is brood and hover over me like a mother.”

He brought her hand up to his face, kissing her pale knuckles. The same knuckles that broke his jaw at one point, the same knuckles that payed him a concussion. He was proud of their progression, they’d come so far over years of fighting and making up again, hurting and loving again. Selina was more than right, what was he doing stressing about her? She could knock him out in one punch if she wanted to. She could stand for her own and heal on her own. 

“I love you, Cat.”

“I love you, Bat.”

The nurse led him out of the room when Selina had fallen asleep. He turned around to glance at his stunning wife and saw a bright future for the both of them. Him, his sons, his beautiful daughter that he prayed for, and her; all there, supporting and pulling each other up when they’d fall. Leading each other through the dark alleyways that brought horrors...that brought death. Even to the last breath and the last kiss and the last goodbye, his family, Selina, would be by his side forever.


End file.
